The Travel Bug

Aside from a quick weekend trip up to the family cabin in Northern Michigan our whirlwind travel schedule of the past several months has slowed down.  Or rather, it has come to a screeching halt.

We went on some really fun trips last year to visit friends and run races and then we had a few friends and family members host weddings in far off locations.  Don't you love that?  It's like a free pass to travel somewhere cool/fun/different.  "They're getting married... we HAVE to go."

So far, 2013 is much quieter on the travel front.  And that makes me feel like I am crawling out of my own skin!  Good for growing our house fund, bad for keeping my sanity.

I love Chicago and I love our little apartment, but I never remember how much I truly love to travel until I am not doing it.  The thrill of seeing new places and experiencing new things-- especially with my favorite person in the world-- is truly a passion for me.  I only wish we had the disposable income to support my ever growing travel wishlist!

So far, our 2013 travel plans include:

-A trip to Las Vegas-- fun!  But it's for work. And for me only. Considerably less fun.

-A weekend in western Pennsylvania with old friends for my college roommate's wedding. Yay!

-A visit with my hubby's family in Dallas on a yet TBD weekend.

-Hopefully another summer trip to the cabin in Northern Michigan!

And that's it so far... pretty tame compared to 2012. Hey friends, when are the rest of you going to bite the bullet and get engaged so we can travel to your weddings??  Just kidding.  But, not really.

So this leaves me to daydream about other trips that I could be planning for this year...

If I'm being responsible, budget conscious, and realistic (as I should be), we would do some local travel or go to some more under the radar places that are new to us, but less damaging to our savings.  For Christmas I got Alex this great book called Day Trips from Chicago: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler.  Cool, right?  It's kind of like our City Walks, but for the larger Midwest.  I mean, Milwaukee, Quad Cities, Springfield, and South Bend may not be really exciting exotic locations, but I have never been to any of them.  So, I'm thinking that this could be the most budget friendly way for me to keep the travel bug at bay without blowing our chance to purchase a house in this lifetime.




If I'm totally throwing caution to the wind, my abbreviated travel wishlist for Alex and me in 2013 would include:

Seattle via

London via

Napa Valley via

Vancouver via

Sicily via

 And Florence.  Just because I would love love love to be back there again.  And to see it with my husband this time around.

Where are you going this year?  If you could travel anywhere, where would you be going?


See my full travel wishlists here and here on Pinterest!